Stowaways
"OK, this is uncomfortable." No one disagreed with Cloud's words, for the back area of the plane was very cramped with cargo. "If our target shows up while we are in this condition, we will not be able to attack properly or we will be destroying what belongs here." Lara said as she tried not to trip on anybody. "Yeah, not to mention smashing this thing while we're in the air will most likely spell out our doom." Some got a little panicky at Spyro's words, and Gex's statement wasn't helping. "I'm not sure I'm ready to be an extra for an Airplane remake." Before anyone could punch him, the cargo bay doors suddenly burst open, dragging everyone along with the air pressure. "See what I meeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"
Everyone went into action to make sure that they didn't fall off. Lara quickly grabbed some ropes and held on tight, being an anchor for Parappa and Abe. Spike thrust his sword into the floor, holding to both it and Nikki. Gex used his tail to hold on the pistons while he was holding on to Crash with his hands. Dart and Cloud stuck their swords in and used their combines grip to make sure Blasto didn't fall off. The only one left was Spyro, who was flying around helping the others stabilize their footing. They all regained their balance, thankful for the elbow room. Little did they know they were going to need it. A sudden screech grabbed everyone's attention as a giant mechanical birdman came swooping down. Everyone hit the deck to avoid the bird of prey, only to find more surprises when they came up. First was some kind of huge steampunk-like cyborg on one of the hanging platforms. One that was quickly disposed of with Gex doing a tail pound on his head, Lara shooting it in its exposed heart, and Cloud finally knocking it off with his sword. "So was that all there was? That thing and the annoying bird?" Cloud and the others noticed the rest of their teammates staring in awe behind them. They turned to see a massive city in the clouds, under attack from a blimp flying nearby. "That's our target, but how do we get up there? Only two of us can fly." Dart's words were answered by a tap from Lara. "I have an idea, but I need the bird. Think you can get it?" With a smile, Dart summoned his Dragoon armor and went after the Songbird.
Dart and Spyro both went after Songbird. Spyro distracted him with an onslaught of flame while Dart struck from behind. Dart landed on Songbird's back and grabbed the base of his wings. Spyro took his cue and used his ice breath on Songbird's eyes, rendering him blind. Taking control, Dart steered Songbird the best he could under the cargo held to the plane. "Lara! Jump!" Lara jumped down, just making it. "OK, now that we have the bird, head to the blimp. I'll get on with Spyro and commander it. And while we do that and get the others, you go on ahead and start the first charge."
Dart was liking this plan more and more. He sped toward the blimp with Spyro behind him. When they were close enough, Lara jumped off. Spyro quickly went ahead and used his tail as a rope for Lara to swing on and fly straight through the door guns blazing. The Vox Populi didn't stand a chance, especially when a dragon swooped through the door ramming and burning everyone. The opposition done, Lara took control and steered the blimp back towards the airplane, prompting everyone to get on. When everyone was on, Lara went straight to the city.
It wasn't smooth sailing as they first had to deal with the anti-aircraft defenses. Spyro flew out to defend from the air, while Blasto and Lara prepared their guns and Nikki summoned her spells. Cloud took over the wheel and did his best to avoid the missiles. Some missiles were about to hit head-on, but they were destroyed by the timely arrival of Dart on the still blind Songbird. Following Dart's lead, Cloud led the blimp to a nearby dock where they regrouped. Before he joined them, Dart jumped off Songbird, causing it to crash into a nearby building. "OK, while I was on that thing I did a little recon. All these buildings are held up by some kind of floatation device. If we break those, the buildings fall. It just leaves the matter of how we're going to get to it." Blasto started doing some practice aims. "I can shoot the platforms here, knocking all of them down!" Lara walked beside him. "I think I can hit it too. Those with long range attacks will get into snipe positions to take them out. Dart, Spyro, you two take to the air again." Parappa was a bit unsure of his use. "What can the rest of us do? I don't think we can be of any use." Cloud responded by pointing at the rails. "We can use that. Those rails are used to transport huge crates. With a little redirection, we can make them go where we want them to."
Soon enough a plan was made. Lara, Blasto, Nikki, and Spyro would hit the buildings on one side, with Gex and Abe covering them. Cloud and Dart would go the other way to rearrange the rails to point at the buildings' bases, with Parappa and Spike setting up the carts and Crash covering from behind. And no sooner did they get started that the local police force showed up to stop them. They would end up being in for the surprise of their lives as they were quickly dispatched by Gex's tail, Abe's possessions and flame, and Crash's endless spinning, allowing the others to get done without a hitch. The long-range attackers were hitting it out of the ballpark, sabotaging each anti-gravity device and making the buildings fall like flies, though there was some slight delay from Blasto trying to impress Lara and Nikki with some trick shots. Equal success was had on the other side, with Cloud slicing up the rails and Dart pointing them towards their target. Parappa and Spike would then let loose a cart, which then smashed a building. Their luck would just keep getting better, as one of the buildings crashed into another, causing a domino effect that destroyed their side. Their work done, everyone turned to help finish off their attackers. What was left barely lasted ten seconds.
Crash started scratching his head as he examined the last building which was the one they were standing on. "I'm with Crash, how do we take care of this last one? It's not like we can go all King Kong on it, then we'll be the ones getting shot down." Gex's questioned was quickly answered by the arrival of a heavily wounded Songbird, who clearly wasn't flying right, for when he dived at the team, he dived too hard and crashed the support, doing the job for them. "Guess that answers my question." Gex said as the glow appeared to take them away.
"Expect for those sword cuts on the plane, absolutely flawless!" The Gamer was being highly ecstatic. "They will definitely be one of the ones to accomplish my goal, as well as provide some of the biggest parts of my entertainment! But wait, there's still another team that can beat them to the top!" The Gamer basically danced to the Team 3 monitor to see how they were doing.